Ricardo Varguez has been a Spanish instructor for over 17 years. His passion for languages and technology have made him a leader in integrating instructional technology into his lessons. Besides his effective teaching of World Languages (Spanish), his local achievements include serving as a presenter for various state organizations and ESUs, as well as a featured presenter at local Apple seminars. He consistently works to design technology based activities that other teachers can implement, including speaking and listening lessons, instructional podcasts, iMovie culture projects, and the use of e-mail and blogs to assess speaking and writing skills.

Ricardo is also an award winning teacher. He was awarded the Lundquist Excellence in Teaching Award by his high school students in 2007. He also received the 2007 Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award by the Nebraska Educators Technology Association (NETA) in 2007. In October of 2007, he received the Outstanding Language Teacher of the Year award, awarded by the Nebraska International Languages Association (NILA). He has presented multiple sessions on technology and world language education for Westside High School, The University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), ESU # 11, ESU # 3, and NILA. He was a featured presenter at the Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in Dearborn, Michigan in March of 2008.

He recently earned his Ph.D. in Educational Studies from the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL), with emphasis in Instructional Technology. In 2010, he was hired as a consultant in technology and language instruction by the Bureau of Education and Research (BER), a Seattle-based company specializing in teacher training.

Kelly Várguez

Kelly Várguez is an active college instructor and professional Nebraska certified court interpreter. She has an expertise in curriculum and instruction, second language acquisition, and legal translating and interpreting. She has several years of experience as a Spanish instructor at both high school and university levels. Currently, Kelly is working as a free-lance translator and interpreter for the Douglas County Courthouse, in Omaha, Nebraska. She has developed instructional programs for online implementation in the legal translation and interpretation fields. She holds an undergraduate degree in Spanish and English as a Second Language, as well as a masters degree in curriculum and instruction.